1. Field of the Technology
The technology relates to a toner container for storing toner used for an image forming apparatus such as a copier, printer, facsimile machine and the like as well as to a toner feed device to which the toner container is detachably mounted and an image forming apparatus equipped with the toner feed device. The technology particularly relates a shutter opening and closing mechanism as an opening and closing means provided for toner feed aperture in the toner container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, in an image forming apparatus such as a copier, printer, facsimile machine and a multifunctional machine at least including two functions of these, its output is produced by forming an electrostatic latent image on a photoreceptor, developing the electrostatic image on the photoreceptor with a developer that is fed from a developing unit to the photoreceptor to form a developer image on the photoreceptor, transferring the developer image from the photoreceptor to recording paper and heating and pressing the recording paper to fix the developer image to the recording paper.
In the developing unit, for example a dual component developer composed of a mixture of a toner and a magnetic carrier is agitated so as to tribo-electrify the toner, and the thus agitated dual-component developer is caused to adhere to the surface of a rotating developing roller so as to convey and supply the dual-component developer to the development area between the developing roller and photoreceptor, to thereby develop the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor with the toner from the dual-component developer. The developer roller is composed of a cylindrical sleeve and magnets arranged inside the sleeve. The developer roller, as it is rotating its sleeve and attracting the dual-component developer to the sleeve surface by the magnetic field from the magnets in the sleeve, conveys and supplies the dual-component developer from the sleeve to the photoreceptor.
Further, since, in the developing unit, toner is consumed from the dual-component developer as electrostatic latent images on the photoreceptor are developed, toner has to be successively supplied by means of a toner feed device as the developer is consumed. This toner feed device includes an intermediate hopper (toner supply hopper) for temporarily storing the toner to be fed to the developing unit and supplying the necessary amount of toner to the developing unit and a toner container that stores toner and is mounted to the intermediate hopper. Provided in the portion where the toner container is mounted to the intermediate hopper is a mounting mechanism for allowing the toner container to be removably mounted to the intermediate hopper. This mounting mechanism is formed with a feed path for connecting the toner feed aperture of the toner container with the intermediate hopper. In this way, toner is supplied from the toner feed device including a toner container such as a toner cartridge, toner bottle or the like, to the developing unit, and when almost all the toner in the toner container is used up, the toner container is replaced with a new one as appropriate by the user.
One configuration of such a toner container is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open 2004-333854 (patent document 1). This toner container is constructed such that its container body has projected pieces formed at its one end face with respect to the axial direction thereof, and is mounted to an image forming apparatus with the projected pieces engaged with a main-body side coupler so that a rotational drive force about the axis can be transferred to the container body. The container body also has a refill port for charging the developer, formed at the same end face with respect to the axial direction and covered with a removable cap member so that the cap member is covered by the main body-side coupler when the projected pieces are coupled with the main body-side coupler. This toner container has a toner discharge aperture at the approximate center of the container body, and the approximately central portion of the container body including the portion where the toner discharge aperture is formed is supported by an approximately cylindrical supporting structure. This supporting structure has a toner feed aperture formed at the position corresponding to the toner discharge aperture of the container body. This toner feed aperture is provided with a shutter opening and closing mechanism which can open and close the opening in the lengthwise direction of the toner container.
However, since the shutter opening and closing mechanism provided for the toner container disclosed in the aforementioned patent document 1 has a structure which can be simply opened and closed by sliding the toner container in its length direction. As a result, the shutter element of the shutter opening and closing mechanism might be erroneously moved by an unexpected load or the like during replacement or transportation of the toner container. That is, this configuration entails the risk that the shutter element of the shutter opening and closing mechanism opens before the toner container is mounted to the toner feed device and the user's hands and clothes are dirtied by leakage and scatter of toner from the toner container.